Tax refunds

A tax refund or tax rebate is the money that you get back from HRMC if you paid too much in tax. By law, if you're travelling to temporary workplaces and paying to make your own way there, you could get a tax refund. On average, a 4-year tax refund claimed through RIFT amounts to £2,500 or £2,000 per year for people in the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

Tax returns

A tax return is how a taxpayer lets HMRC know their annual income, expenses and other personal circumstances. HMRC use it to calculate the tax you owe and claim tax allowances and tax reliefs you're entitled to. There are many reasons you may have to file a tax return, it's not just for the self-employed.

Advice

We’ve been helping people with the taxman since 1999. Our specialist teams work closely with HMRC to put the cash back in your pocket where it belongs. You can be sure that we know the rules inside out. Get in touch if you need help, it's what we're here for.

Our prices

We make our prices as simple as possible so that you don't find yourself with any unexpected bills for "hidden extras". All aftercare is included and any refund you get is covered by our RIFT Guarantee. There are no upfront charges. We'll handle everything with HMRC for you and even remind you when it's time to claim again next year.

About us

The RIFT Group is a family business based in Kent, founded by Jan Post in 1999. We're specialists in tax refunds and tax returns and we're the only company in our field to have been awarded the Institute of Customer Service "ServiceMark" for excellence in customer service. Get in touch to see how we can help you today.

HRMC tax codes explained​

A tax code is used to record how much a person can earn before paying tax on their income. It can also list any special rates or circumstances that apply. Basically, a tax code consists of a number that represents what you can earn before paying tax, and one or more letters. You multiply the number by 10 to get your tax-free personal allowance, then decode the letters to see what other conditions apply.

You were born before 6 April 1938, and get a higher personal allowance

T

Your tax code includes other calculations to work our your personal allowance

0T

Your personal allowance has been used up, you don't have a form P45 or your new employer doesn't have enough information to work out your tax code

R

All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate (if this is your second job, for instance)

D0

All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the higher rate

D1

All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the additional rate

NT

You don't pay tax on this income

There are a few more codes for special circumstances. K, for example, means your tax-free allowance has been reduced so much that it's in the red. That's like owing tax on money you haven't even earned! Generally, though, the letter in the list above are the main ones to know about.

Numbers in your HMRC tax code

The numbers in your tax code tell your employer or pension provider how much tax-free income you are entitled to in that tax year. This will be based on your personal allowance, which is the amount of income you can earn before you pay tax.

How the number in your tax code is worked out

HMRC works out your tax-free personal allowance

Any income that you haven’t paid tax on (e.g. untaxed interest or part-time earnings) and the value of any benefits from your job (eg a company car) are added up

The income that you haven’t paid tax on is taken away from your allowances. What’s left is the tax-free income you’re allowed in a tax year

This amount is divided by 10 and letters are added after that which signify anything else about your circumstances that employers, pension providers or other financial services organisations may need to know

Example:

1100L is the current tax code for most people born after 5 April 1938. 1100 refers to their tax-free personal allowance, £11,000, divided by 10.

What if I have more than one job?

To cut a long story short, most people right now would probably expect to see a tax code of 1100L. The 1100 means that they can earn £11,000 before paying tax, and the L means they get the basic personal allowance without modifications.

Suppose you took on a second job, though. The HMRC rules state that your personal allowance only counts for your main job. Your second job would have its own tax code (probably BR, assuming you didn't get bumped into a higher tax bracket). It would be taxed right from the first penny, so you have to make sure HMRC's got its facts straight. For example, if they decide your "main job" is the one that only pays you £10,000 per year, you're going to be missing out on a thousand pounds of your tax-free personal allowance.

If you're claiming expenses, HMRC may decide to change your tax code to account for them. If your expenses vary from year to year, that can cause headaches. That's why you should keep track of your tax code and your tax code allowance.

Claiming HMRC Tax Refunds since 1999

To date we've claimed back over £153 million for over over 55,000 people just like you, who've paid too much tax on their travel and other necessary work related expenses. That includes expenses for things like washing your uniform, buying your meals, paying for accommodation between travel to different workplaces and more.

There's a reason why we're the only tax company in the industry to be awarded the ICS ServiceMark for our outstanding customer service. It's because we have 7 different teams of dedicated specialist who deal with every aspect of your tax rebate claim and all aftercare through the tax year - with no hidden costs.

DO YOU QUALIFY FOR A TAX REFUND FROM HMRC?

Our guarantee means you'll never lose a penny

When you claim your tax rebate with RIFT, our unique RIFT Guarantee means that you don't have to worry about the taxman reclaiming any of your money. So long as you give us full and accurate information, if HMRC disagrees with the amount that we’ve claimed and ask for the money back, we’ll pay it. It won’t cost you a penny.